DrSea

13 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

I know that is what your post is suggesting.  I was wondering if in the communication did the translation get twisted.  I offered up a scenario where it could be possible the “fixed” dining comment was referring to the dining time not the menus.

 

Time will tell…2024 enhancements for our convenience are in the works now.  

 

 

Oooooh!

I'm pretty sure they understood. They spoke English as well as me, an American. We discussed in length how disappointing a fixed menu would be to multiple senior officers and managers. 

9 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

Fixed dining or fixed menus?  I noticed a recent change when trying to make MDR dining reservations on the Bliss.  In the past we could reserve on the half hour.  Now we can choose 6:30 or 8:30 only.  Hmmmm.

 

As for my hubby and me (we’re pretty typical) we dislike the “cattle call” so we would load up on Specialty Dining and might even consider Haven.  Plays well for NCL’s piggy bank.

 

 

and, what’s funny, MSC is experimenting with Anytime Dining in US based cruises.  

Fixed menus is what I'm asking about 

22 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Who are "They"?

The Captain?

Head of Food and Beverages?

Head Chef?

Waiter?

Busboy?

 

When was it said?

Formal presentation?

Behind the scenes tour?

Random overheard comment?

 

Context would be helpful.

I don't want to tell who told me bc I don't want to put them on blast. 

I was told that it will be tested across the line and that the getaway is next

I just got off of the getaway and they said that they are switching to fixed dinning. I read on here that the prima already switched to rotating menus. 

My question is what is NCL planning to do about the MDR? I am booked on the epic in April 2024.

Thanks for your help. I did a quick search and didn't find an immediate answer. 

There may be last minute cancellations. My last PCL cruise, there was a medical emergency almost daily. 

44 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I was one that couldn’t stand the traditional dining format .. especially once they added the anytime dining, which was great for us in the beginning .. but, then became a free for all.  
The traditional dining time changed from 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM .. way too early.  I even had it changed to 4:30 PM once .. but when you got onboard, they changed it back to 5:00 PM.  The late dining was changed to 7:30 PM .. which is too late for us.  Then once onboard, it was changed to 7:45 PM and even 8:00 PM.  
As a result, many people from traditional dining would show up at the anytime dining room and we could not get in to the dining room.  One time, it was our anniversary and they said there just wouldn’t be room for us to dine by ourselves.  Seriously, I think the DMW has been a definite improvement for us in all ways!  On many of our cruises over the past several months, we’ve had the same table with the same waiters and at a time we like to dine.  The first day, you may wait in line but from then on, they just let you know when your table is ready and we just walked on back!  We’ve had excellent experiences in going that route.  
 

 

The cruise line that does dine my way the best is NCL. Never an issue getting a table by myself whenever I want with almost no wait times. No other mainstream cruise line I have seen has done it better. 

Waiting is more and more a part of the PCL experience, which is not something I would have said 3 years ago. Still very surprised how things have changed in such a short time period. 

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

I found very little reason to use the app on board my last 4 cruises. The medallion opens my door, pays in the shops and let’s bartenders know that I have the plus package. None of that involves the app on board. I can also use my TV to see what the menus are, watch the safety video etc.  I don’t see very much I would use the app for

Room service and chatting with my guests are exclusively tied to the app. My TV didn't work a lot of the times too. So, that isn't always an option to check the menu and call in. 

A lot of functionality is tied to the app where it would be more difficult to do in person. Ex. checking my bill statements, making/canceling restaurant reservations, asking for help from guest services on crew chat instead of waiting in line at guest services (the line was very long bc they changed our disembarkation times on the last day and ppl were freaking wild animals waiting in line to get flights changed), etc. 

46 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

First off, I was speaking of my personal experience in clearing clogs on ships, not on Princess ships, and not in the cases you mention.  Let's say that you report a toilet being out of service, and the maintenance people get there within 15 minutes, yet it requires several hours to clear the clog.  Is this "not prompt enough", or is this the physical limitations of clearing a clog.  If your sewer clogs up at home, and the roto-rooter guy takes several hours to clear it, is this "not prompt" service?  What do you do for a toilet in this case?  This could affect all the drains in your house, do you have a neighbor you can go to to uses the bathroom?  As for the time involved, the incident I mentioned was to grind through an entire bath towel that had been flushed, this is not a quick and easy job to do, and you may well ask why someone would flush a bath towel down the toilet, but that does not change the time involved to get things cleared.

 

As I noted above, there are completely separate systems for the toilets around the ship, so having toilets go down "all over the ship" does not indicate a "systemic failure", but does indicate that many people are flushing things down the hopper that they shouldn't.  I don't know what the level of noro you had on this cruise, but I have certainly found over the years, that the incidence of toilet clogs goes way up during times of noro illness (to put it bluntly, people mess their underwear and then flush it down the toilet rather than deal with it themselves).

 

 

12 hours is too long. A couple of ppl had accidents in their pants waiting for the clog to clear. Fecal accidents...bless their hearts...I understand that it can be a grind to get it done given all the engineering complexities that you are an expert at. But princess needs to hire more people to fix things to get the down time reduced. More ppl working on an issue can get down times down. It isn't rocket since here. It was so gross trying to avoid carpet with feces bc ppl had accidents. 

You're assuming that people are flushing things down that they shouldn't be all over the ship. You or I have no evidence of that. 

1 minute ago, nini said:

 

I love pitch dark too... the ones that really bother me are the windows/ drapes in hotels.

Really depends on hotels. Some blackout drapes work for me at hotels. 

But I have yet to find a window, balcony, or suite with black out curtains that truly keep the room pitch black on multiple cruise lines and multiple ships. Was just on a the crown princess last week with a balcony and light leaked in pretty badly. I was up at 6 am bc of the light daily when I would have loved to sleep in until 9 am on vacation. 

33 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

98% of all toilet issues are caused by people flushing things down the toilet that don't belong.  Who does it can be learned from where the problem happens.  Crew don't have toilets up where passenger areas are, so if they cause a problem, an entire section of the ship loses toilets.  Clogs don't always happen directly where the item was flushed, but may travel down the piping for a ways until it finds a particular elbow or junction where it hangs up.  It requires maintenance to check pipes to find the exact location of the clog, and then it can be extremely difficult to roto-root out some clogs, particularly when people flush things like underwear, swimwear, dinner napkins, towels, face cloths, and other fabrics down the toilet (over the years that I worked cruise ships, this was far more common than most passengers will believe).  I've seen it where it took my men, working round the clock, several days to roto-root out a towel that was causing loss of 20 or so cabin toilets, so to say that the crew are not responding "promptly" enough is disingenuous.

Not having access to your stateroom toilet for 12 hours is not prompt enough. Can you go an entire day not using your bathroom? Some ppl had covid and had to isolate in their room. IDK what happened in those situations. 

And toilets all over the ship were out of order. 2 likely scenarios: customers were flushing inappropriate things all over the cruise ship or there is a systemic issue. The mens gym bathroom was literally out of 3 days.

Princess needs to hire more people to fix these maintenance issues if their workers are working around the clock. 

Just now, nini said:

So strange... The drapes work very well.

Not for me. The light around the drapes leak in. Sometimes the ship moves and the drapes open. I am very sensitive to light. 

Glad you're not. But I need it pitch black dark before I can sleep. YMMV

29 minutes ago, nini said:

@dandonna.

To each his own. Pre- Covid, we did a 2018 cruise on the Celebrity Refelction. The best part was our cabin steward and the itinerary. We did not enjoy 3 hours for a meal in the dining room, flies all over the buffet (everyday), the extreme snootiness of staff, and lack of service in the buffet. Good luck flagging down a server for a drink or to clear your plate.

This has never happened on Princess.

Just now, nini said:

I STATED that this was 2018!!! Which was very pre-covid!

I didn't realize you meant that based on what you wrote in the bolded section. 

4 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

A special dinner at the steakhouse would be a good way to celebrate.  If you go on the first night, each table gets a free bottle of wine.

The wine is cheap. Just FYI. 

On 2/19/2023 at 11:09 PM, travelin.sisters said:

short answer: NO

 

long answer: we are balcony people, we like being able to be in our own space, not surrounded by lots of people & able to watch the sights, we are also older & have some mobility issues so this is good for us...others find the balcony a waste of money as they enjoy the excitement of being outside & able to go from one side of the ship to the other as things appear on one side or the other or find different places on the ship to see different things.

 

actual answer: you have to look at your budget & decide what is most important for you, will having a balcony mean you can't afford an excursion or adventure that you really want to do? do you love being able to hangout on a balcony with your morning coffee & laze, I hope this thread gives you tons of insight to help you make the best decision for you

 

This is the best and honest answer. 

I have been to Alaska on an interior and balcony. 

If you are sensitive to light when sleeping, you must get an interior. I got a balcony and couldn't sleep until 11 pm when the sun sets and woke up at like 3 or 4 am bc of the light. I was so miserable. Never again will I do Alaska without an inside room. It's non-negotiable for me. 

TY. I thought so. 

10 minutes ago, nini said:

@dandonna.

To each his own. Pre- Covid, we did a 2018 cruise on the Celebrity Refelction. The best part was our cabin steward and the itinerary. We did not enjoy 3 hours for a meal in the dining room, flies all over the buffet (everyday), the extreme snootiness of staff, and lack of service in the buffet. Good luck flagging down a server for a drink or to clear your plate.

This has never happened on Princess.

After the restart, flagging ppl to clear your table can be an issue due to staffing issues on PCL

Just wondering. I presume no. 

If they are free, are they separated by gender? Thanks

On 2/24/2023 at 10:30 AM, Princessfan20 said:

 

Princess Love Boat Dream is not even close to what it use to be.  Had it on our last cruise and it is really lacking in many qualities now.  This is such a limited menu, especially for those of us who do 20 to 30 day cruises that it makes one wonder if their new pricing and cutbacks have reached the point where Oceana, Viking or Regent might be more worth it now.

Viking has always been worth it, imho. 

I was on the Crown princess last week. Many ppl were testing positive. 

2 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

🤐

 

Non functioning toilets is a major issue - and quite disgusting, and has the  potential to spread disease.  Hopefully the maintenance team can figure it out.

Yes. A lot of toilets were not working. I am in my 30s and can easily walk to another bathroom on a different floor

I cannot imagine a person in their 60s or 70s or older with (urinary or fecal) incontinence having to find a bathroom. 

Just now, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Wash your mouth....The Grand is NOT leaving the fleet.....please.

 

Yes, I am also very confused.  It sounds like OP was on the Crown.  But it takes 15 days to go to Hawaii and back.  How does Mexico fit in?  That's another week long itinerary.  

We went to ensenada for a day just to get our international port. 4 ports in Hawaii. 

My bad for the confusion everyone. I changed the title of the post. 

Just now, cruisingrob21 said:

The title of the thread says Grand but you mentioned the Crown - so which is it?

 

The Crown had a drydock in fall of 2022.  I sailed the voyage right before the drydock and was honestly shocked - the ship appeared in great condition and looked younger than its age.  If you are talking about the crown, that's pretty sad to hear.

 

The grand - well, the ship is 25 years old and likely to be the next Princess ship sold off due to its age.  But its well liked by some and the last of the original Grand class ships left, so there is some nostalgia I suppose for the last grand class ship with a vista lounge and the unique One 5 night club.

It looks nice for it's age. But it's not really functional, given the constant bathroom clogs and leaks on the ship. 

Whoops. I meant crown princess

I edited the title

11 hours ago, dandonna said:

No cruise is ever perfect but this was just one thing after another. I didnt even mention the bad wi-fi. I feel like the last 4 Princess cruises things have worsened but always said that oh well Covid did this and just give them the benefit of the doubt. Princess needs to take these reviews serious as this is the first time in years we are trying different cruise lines. If they dont take us or fellow cruisers serious they will continue to lose revenue. Have a great week!

The wifi was pretty bad. If they didn't tie so much to the crappy app, it would be less of an issue. 

16 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

On the Ruby Princess. Line on the left in first photo is for those with reservations. In the second photo is towards the end of the live with reservations.

 

 

On the Crown princess last week. It was like that too. 

The wait times on Princess have exceeded my wait times on NCL. How things have changed so fast.